India

New Delhi, September 17, 2026. The Indian economic press has followed the decision of the US Federal Reserve essentially through the prism of markets — bonds, gold, bitcoin, and global stocks — more than that of monetary diplomacy. On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) unanimously raised its benchmark rate by a quarter of a point, to a range of 3.75% to 4.00% — its first hike since July 2023, reports Swarajya. The new president Kevin Warsh, appointed by Donald Trump in May, justified the decision without hesitation: "the fact is that inflation is too high, and for too long," he said in a press conference, quoted by the Economic Times.

The quarterly projections show that sixteen of the eighteen Fed officials anticipate at least one more rate hike by the end of the year, which would bring the benchmark rate between 4.00% and 4.25%, according to the Deccan Chronicle. The daily newspaper emphasizes that this decision "de facto recognizes the inability of the Trump administration to control inflation so far," pointing to tariffs, the oil shock linked to the US-Israeli war against Iran, and spending related to the rise of artificial intelligence as drivers of prices.

Even before the announcement, US bond yields had soared: the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond had reached 5.041%, a high since July 2007, while the CME FedWatch gave a 92.7% probability of a 25 basis point hike, compared to 59.4% a week earlier, a sign of a rapid shift in expectations, according to the Economic Times. In the markets, the Indian press details especially the collateral effects: the yield on two-year Treasury bonds rose to 4.738%, its highest level since July 2024, while spot gold progressed by 0.8% on Thursday, to $4,295.26 an ounce, according to The Hindu Business Line. Bitcoin, already weakened by the failure of a regulatory text in the US Senate, fell by 4% before stabilizing around $75,700. Global stock markets, meanwhile, opened slightly higher before the announcement, driven by technology stocks.

Few Indian articles directly mention Donald Trump's response, who demanded on Truth Social a rate "of 1% or less," or the consequences for the rupee. The emphasis remains on global market indicators rather than the domestic Indian impact.